November 30, 2007

Last night, we headed over to Planet Hollywood so Frank could play poker while I shopped. We wanted to grab a bite beforehand, we figured we'd try Trader Vic's or Earl of Sandwich. While we looked over the menu at Trader Vic's the hostess gave us a card good for a free appetizer. It lured us inside. You have a choice to dine on the outside patio or indoors. We opted to eat inside since it was pretty cool outside. The restaurant has a nice ambience and the patio will be great in the warm months.

Service was decent. We shared a Caesar salad to start. It was edible, but not great as it was overdressed resulting in limp romaine. Frank chose rack of lamb and I went with the pork chop. We snacked on pinapple sesame bread while we waited for our entrees to arrive. There's a foursome of condiments to try: chinese mustard, coconut peanut butter, wasabi aoli, and Trader Vic's table sauce. I loved the peanut butter and Frank liked the chinese mustard best.

Both entrees were cooked to perfection and presented beautifully. The BBQ pork chop was served alongside mashed potatoes and Maui onion marmalade. Curry rice noodles accompanied the rack of lamb. Each dish was well prepared. Bellies full we requested the check, our bill was $75. We had an enjoyable meal, but didn't feel that it'll be worthy of a return visit.

November 29, 2007

We’ve been in a Mexican state of mind as we near our upcoming trip. We’ve been longing Mexican food like mad. We’ve tried a few restaurants nearby, but none have satisfied our hunger for fresh salsa and authentic dishes. The most disappointing experience was at Macayo. The food was bland and the salsa was among the worst I’ve ever tasted. Most recently, we were swayed to try Mi Casa at Silverton; they sent us a $25 gift certificate by mail. Said and done, our meal cost $8; I can’t imagine paying a dollar more than that. Chips were excellent and salsas were fair, but the entrée portions were tiny and poor quality. I had a pork tamale that consisted solely of pork fat. The best meal of the bunch was at Viva Mercado. They recently moved to their new location at Rainbow and Spring Mountain. It is quite an improvement over the prior establishment; it’s roomier and has better décor. Even service improved. Overall, our meal was good, the carnitas were excellent. Still it was a failed attempt to satisfy our craving, I guess will have to hold out another ten days until we can dig into the real thing... La Cueva del Chango, perhaps?

November 13, 2007

Early this morning, Frank and I watched the Frontier implosion. It was my favorite yet. We were fortunate to have access to the VIP/Media viewing area, I scored passes through work. Nice to have front row seats to say farewell to the Frontier. There was a large group from The Plaza (expected to open 2011) in attendance. They were pretty pompous. Each sported ponchos to protect their suits from debris and dust masks. They ran for cover when the dust cloud erupted... funny stuff. It's their heads in my video, they were able to cross the caution tape shortly before the firework display got underway. Anyway, here's a sample of the fireworks & implosion from my perspective:

November 6, 2007

Per usual, a lot is happening in our neck of the woods. Frank finally finished up in Laughlin, he’s now back in Las Vegas full-time. We have the Laughlin condo on the market and we are hopeful that it sells quickly. The updates to the Vegas condo are coming along; although, I took this past weekend off from home projects. I was in need of break, but I’ll be back to work this weekend. As we’ve decided to tie up all the loose ends as soon as possible so we can put our Las Vegas condo on the market, as well.

We’ve done some house hunting and determined that most of the new housing developments don’t meet our needs. Therefore, we’re expanding our home search to include resale homes. Despite it being a buyers market, homeowners are still not keen on accepting offers contingent on sale. So, we plan to sell both properties to avoid troubles purchasing our next home. For now, we’re reviewing properties on realtor.com to get an idea of what’s available. There are plenty of viable options, hopefully that’ll be the case when we are ready to buy.

Amid all this bedlam, I have two trips on the horizon. I will be heading to Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend. Missing Nicky’s first birthday and recent milestones (walking, talking, etc.) have broken my heart. So, I figured the long weekend will be well spent with family I miss terribly.

Two weeks after I return from Chicago, Frank and I will be on our way to Xpu-ha, Mexico. Our passports arrived last week and they were the last item needed to prepare for the trip. We are anxiously awaiting our vacation; we are in dire need of some rest and relaxation.

There are new kids in town. A few weeks ago, to much fanfare, Dunkin' Donuts opened the first of many locations in the valley. Tomorrow, SexxPresso will start serving up some of the hottest coffee around.